Aeternum Vale
by Sakurabythesea
Summary: Some say the world will end in fire. Others say it will end in ice. But for her, it ended the moment that he died. Ren/Nora centric, brief mentions of other characters and Jaune/Pyhrra if you squint. WARNING: RATED T FOR CHARACTER DEATH.


**A/N: This is my first fanfic, so please bear with me if anything seems horribly out of place. Constructive criticism is welcome! Also, I have nothing against Ren; I love him and he's one of my favourite characters. I just had this idea and I had to get it out. Also, the Ursa-like Grimm that appears here is NOT a Major Ursa. I know it sounds like one, but it's about twice as large and twice as deadly. **

**Disclaimer: All rights to RWBY belong to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth.  
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_Some say the world will end in fire. Others say it will end in ice. But for her, it ended the moment that he died.__  
_  
"Are you sure you'll be okay, Ren?" Nora asked with concern. He'd only just recovered from a broken arm a few days ago, and now he was going back to the battlefield. Even if the limb had been healed with the best Dust anyone had to offer (courtesy of the Schnee Company, of course), she knew it wasn't safe for him to start fighting again.

"I'll be fine, Nora. I'm strong, you know that," he replied. Then he gave her one of his rare smiles, the ones that made her knees go weak and her face turn the colour of a ripe tomato. "Besides, we need all the fighters we can get. There're just too many Grimm out there." They'd been fighting a losing war against a huge Grimm invasion for months now, but no one was willing to give up, no matter how many people were falling. She was still worried about Ren's condition, but he kept reassuring her that he was fine. Besides, she thought, if anything goes wrong, I'll be right there to help him.

Switching Magnhild into its grenade launcher form, she grinned widely at him. "Let's go, then! First one out the door is a rotten egg!" She zoomed out, cackling madly as she shot at a Beowulf in front of her. She heard Ren take down another Beowulf and smiled. No problem there!

Suddenly a Nevermore swooped down from the sky, aiming for Ren. Switching Magnhild into its war hammer mode, she whacked the Nevermore hard, doing a back flip to get away from its flailing. Immediately, Ren began shooting it with his Stormflower and together they finished it off, causing the Nevermore to shriek in pain before dying. Nora jumped to one side to avoid its body crushing her while Ren landed on the opposite end. Nora smiled at her partner, who nodded at her in return. With all the intensive training that they'd done over the last couple of years at Beacon, even a Nevermore wasn't much of a problem.

Her smile dropped as she saw an Ursa-like Grimm, only much larger and much more deadly (judging by those impossibly long claws and fangs) appear from behind him, readying its arm to go in for the kill. She opened her mouth, her lips forming his name as she pulled back Magnhild's trigger to blast the Grimm to oblivion-but for once she was too late. In a single, terrifying heartbeat, she saw him whirl around, eyes widened, trying to dodge the attack in vain as the Grimm's claws ripped through his chest.

She screamed as she saw him fall.

Before the Ursa had a chance to react she'd shot it multiple times, not caring if it was dead or alive, before driving Magnhild into its head with all her strength, cracking its skull open as though it were made of thin glass. In a moment she was at his side, arms cradling his head, whispering, "Ren," over and over and over again. With great pain he turned to focus on her, his hand moving to grasp hers. His gaze faltered for a moment, and she felt a chill run down her spine.

"Nora," he said, his voice scarcely more than a sigh. "You're safe." Then his hand went limp.

"No!" she yelled. "No! Ren, don't die! You can't die here! Ren!" But despite her protests his eyes turned glassy; when she frantically felt for his pulse there was no beat to reassure her. She waited, praying, begging, that this was just a cruel joke the world had decided to play on her. She waited to see the familiar roll of the eyes, waited to hear the exasperated "Nora!", but there was no response.

Something inside her broke.

She was vaguely aware of Pyhrra's hand on her back and a nurse carrying his broken, bloodied body away on a stretcher, heard Ruby wailing about Yang and "don't know if she'll make it", and she felt Jaune and Pyhrra lead her quietly into the emergency ward. They helped her sit down, both of them silently weeping. After what seemed like hours, they were called into his room. An unfamiliar girl with short blonde hair and brown eyes rimmed red from crying whispered, "I'm so sorry. I did everything I could. I'm so sorry."

Nora looked down at his body, reached for his hand as she collapsed beside him. Ren had always been so warm, both inside and out, but now-now-he was colder than ice. Pyhrra began to sob hysterically. Jaune attempted to comfort her, but she could hear him crying too.

And yet-Nora could only stare.

It seemed so unreal, that he had died here. It seemed impossible that just a while ago he had been fine and now he was gone, that the healthy, gentle boy she'd loved for over a decade was suddenly lost to her forever. Maybe this was all a bad dream, a horrifying nightmare, and she'd wake up and it would all be over. She pinched herself to make sure, shutting her eyes tight, but when she opened them he was still lying there, motionless, lifeless.

She didn't know how long she sat there for, just watching him, hanging on to the slim hope that somehow he was still alive. But no matter how long she watched, no matter how long she waited, nothing changed.

Suddenly she heard the door open, and Pyhrra came in with a platter of food. For once, Nora didn't even glance at it.

"I know you're sad, Nora. We all are," Pyhrra said quietly. "It's been…a long, long, day, and I know you need some time alone. Just…don't forget that we're always here for you." With that said, Pyhrra quietly left the room, closing the door behind her.

_Always here for you._ That was what he had promised her too, what he had always reassured her. But he'd broken his promise, even if he didn't mean to. She reached for his hand again, pressed it against her cheek. She felt tears ready to spill behind her eyes, but they wouldn't come out. "We were supposed to be together," she said quietly. "We've always been together."

His death had only been one of thousands that day, and yet she would have gladly sacrificed anyone and anything if it only meant she could stay with him. Let the world burn, so long as it meant they would be together. She just wanted one more moment with him, wanted to see his smile one last time.

She hated herself for not treasuring each and every second with him, hated herself for being _too late_, hated that she could do nothing to help him when he needed her the most. He had always been the one to save her from her problems, but when it really mattered she couldn't repay that debt. If for every life lost today someone else's heart was broken, she thought, would there be enough glue in the world to put the pieces back together?

She let her eyes wander to his chest, where she had carefully wiped all the blood away, and then to his face. The beautiful magenta eyes that once sparkled with intelligence, and, on rare occasions, laughter, were glazed and empty. It was as if his _essence_ was gone. Is this it? She thought. Is this all his life was worth? She brushed her fingers against his forehead, kissed his cheek, and, slowly and gently, shut his eyes.

"I love you, Ren," she whispered, voice cracking. Only then did she let herself cry.

_This is how the world ends._

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**A/N: I know, I know, I'm terrible at angst, sorry /cries/. I may make a short sequel to this from Ren's perspective if anyone would like that. Please review; it would mean a lot!**


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